The Pieces of the Puzzle
by teenfox
Summary: A young woman tries to piece together what really happened after the fire at the opera house all those years ago. Erik and Christine
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I have decided to finally join the Phantom of the Opera fanfiction community, of course I've already been reading in it for a while, but I haven't actually written anything yet, so now I'm giving it a shot. I hope you all enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Phantom of the opera, if I did, I would either be dead right now, or just exceedingly rich.

* * *

-Prologue-

1919- Paris

After years of hearing the phantoms story of how he tried to win the heart of a lovely young girl living in the Paris opera house, I still was unable to detect the young girls feelings. The way the story had been told for so long it was hard to tell if Christine Daae really did love the Viscount Raoul de Chagny.

I sat in my bed thinking about the Phantom, how he had loved Christine so much that he would to anything at all costs to have her, even kill a man, witch he had done so before in his troubled past. I felt sympathy for the man everyone called a monster, but that might have been just me feeling sorry for myself as I had not been successful in receiving love from the man I so dearly wanted it from.

At this thought I picked up a small photograph that had been taken not to long ago of the man in question, a very sturdy young Frenchmen who had dirty blonde hair and eyes of ice. I set the photo down and again related to the Phantom and his woes. Love puts you through such terrible hardships.

I blew out the candle in my room to try and find some sleep.

* * *

1870- Paris

Christine was forced to make a difficult decision. She was standing in front of two men, one witch was about to be killed and the other, about to be his killer.

"You try my patience, make your choice!" Erik, the well known Phantom of the opera screamed at her in his handsome baritone voice.

She cried out not for Raoul, and his impending doom, but for the choice she had to make. This really put her feelings to the test. She couldn't go off and marry Raoul and live in the life of luxury he had planned, it wasn't meant for her, when she sang words of love with him on the rooftop, her heart was confused and frightened, only looked for a familiar face to protect her. She thought Raoul was her escape to safety, but when he proposed, realization struck, and it struck hard. She couldn't marry into his life of wealth and good fortune, she didn't even know if she had felt the same passion he did for her.

On the other hand there was Erik, if not insane with jealousy and his craving for her care, Christine would choose him, but one cannot marry a murderer, and a mentally unstable man. The first night of actually meeting him, she fell fast for his sweet voice and hypnotizing lyrics. The way his hands roamed her abdomen, singing songs in her head.

After that whenever she saw him she melted, she became a living statue, she couldn't speak or think of anything but his presence. And now, she was just scared and confused about the choices he had given her.

She could either let her dear childhood friend die in order to get away from the phantom, or stay with him and let Raoul go. She did not want Raoul to die, so the second choice seemed the more obvious one, and racing through her mind were thoughts of living with Erik not being so bad. She was only frightened of his murderous temper, who would end up dead for just trying to visit her in this underground prison?

The two men stared at her expectedly. Finally she made her choice, making her way through the water towards the Phantom she slid on his ring, and kissed his lips gently.

Raoul stood heartbroken.

Erik took in every bit of her sweet kiss, letting the long awaited desire flow through him.

Christine thoughts wondered as she passionately kissed Erik's lips, never before had she felt like this, her kisses with Raoul seemed to have shrunk in comparison to this single kiss of life and death with Erik. They pulled away for a moment before Christine desires thirst for more, and she kissed him again.

But this time pulling away, Erik was crying, she couldn't decipher them as happy tears or tears of despair. But soon the answer was clear as he began to leave her side sobbing words like "leave me" "forget me" and what not.

Christine panicked, just after deciding whom she had wanted, did he decide he didn't want her. She looked back at Raoul who was red in the face from tears and pain, and also apparently in slight shock, just as she was at the moment.

She couldn't let him hang against the wall like that, so she quickly went over to him and let him loose.

"Quickly Christine! Let's get out of here!" Raoul said making his way to the lever that he had watched the Phantom use to open the door.

"Raoul wait!" Christine said as he pulled the lever. "I can't leave him…" She had finished in a whisper.

"What?" Raoul asked in shock. "Of course you can! He let you go!"

Christine looked away from him. "No Raoul, I think I l-"

"No." Raoul cut her off knowing what she was going to say. "Christine, I love you, we're engaged! We were going to live happy together at my estate!"

She began to cry now. "No, You were going to live happy at your estate… I could never fit in there, I just don't belong."

Raoul looked away from her understanding her words. "But how can you decide to live this life instead? How can you want this?"

"Music is my passion Raoul, it's always been. Erik is one man that truly shares the same desires I do…" Her words had cut him deeply; he still couldn't picture her leaving him for a monster like Erik. "Please just try to understand!"

"I don't think I can ever understand Christine." He said in disappointment not daring to look at her sobbing face. "But I can respect your wishes."

Christine let a faint smile of relief cross her face. She hugged her ex-fiancé and thanked him over and over apologizing for what she had done.

"I still want us to remain friends, your friendship is very important to me, you're my only link to the happy childhood I had with my father and I will always love you, just not in the same way you do for me." She pulled back from the hug.

"I should go now." Raoul said hearing the faint sounds of the angry mob on the hunt for the Phantom. "We'll meet again Christine, but as for now, be safe." And with one last hug he left the way he came, this time more heartbroken and distraught, now letting his tears fall freely in hopes that she didn't see them.

Christine watched him leave, and then she ran to find Erik so that they could escape before the mob came. She found him looking at his music box, singing along to its soft tune. She felt horrible for making him feel this way. She slowly began to walk over when he saw her.

"Christine, I love you." He sang softly.

Christine almost felt like crying at this sad scene, the terrifying man from before was now nothing more then a sad mess, completely deprived of the one thing he had ever cared for. He looked up at her with a faint smile of hope.

She kneeled down beside him and took his large hands in her tiny ones. "Erik… I had made my choice… and it still stands." Erik couldn't believe the words that came from his angels mouth, had she really come back to tell him that she was going to stay with him? Or was this to further his torment.

* * *

A/N: Somewhat Prologue, Somewhat the beginning of the story… I really would like to know what you guys think, please tell me!

Teenfox


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: So I decided to continue thinking that more people will read if you write more, am I right? But in the end, I dont especially care how many people read or review, I just like to write the stories. :)

* * *

"You're only doing this out of pity." He pulled his hands away from hers and stood up not showing his face to her.

She would have been stupid to think it would be easy to get him to see the truth. "Please… I'm not doing this out of guilt or pity, I really want to stay with you, no one else could ever make me feel the way you do when you sing, when you hold me, when I just glance at you!"

Erik clutched his heart. He couldn't believe this was happening to him.

"Please." She whispered to him in desperation, now she had nothing left, she had nowhere else to go to.

He finally turned to her; he saw the truth in her eyes when she looked up at him. He then took her hand in his own and helped her up. When he had saw her come back into his room, this is what he had hoped for, and now it was real.

"Oh Christine…" She leaned closer into him but stopped when they both heard the mobs cries in the tunnels searching for them.

"We have to get out of here! They'll kill you!" Christine panicked. Erik stayed mainly calm as he looked around the room. He grabbed his mask and various other items before taking off towards the other side of his cave like home, Christine's small hand in his being tugged along. He smashed one of the mirrors and ran through it, quickly covering it up, and then he led Christine through the darkness.

I awoke the next morning to a bright fall day; I had quickly dressed, and then made my way through the boarding house that I had spent many years in due to the loss of my family. Today I felt excited, today was the day I would be heading off to the old Paris Opera house to attend an old auction. I climbed down the stairs but was quickly stopped by a man, about my age.

"Where are you headed in such a hurry this morning mademoiselle?" The young man joked, his brown, hair was slicked back and his eyes were gray as clouds. His name was Alden, A very odd name, but he was English so I thought not much of it. His mother owned the boarding house; I had grown up with her and her son.

"If you must know, I'm on my way to an auction at the Paris opera house, there may be some clues to prove my theses." I informed him moving his arm out of my way and walked by.

"Not the Phantom of the Opera thing again! Aimee, This is foolish!" He followed me as I grabbed a cloak and made my exit, Alden quickly grabbing a cloak as well chased me out the door.

"You can squabble about why you don't want me to go on with this but I wont listen. So you can choose to come along or you can choose to stay behind." I smiled as he sighed and joined my side making our way to the old opera house.

Christine only remembered darkness from the previous night; she didn't remember what had happened after entering the mirror with her phantom. But now she was awake and she was in some sort of room. She looked around for anything familiar.

She saw Erik leaning over a fireplace deep in thought. She didn't want to disturb him; he seemed to be concentrating hard on something. As she surveyed the rest of the room, she noticed it must have been some sort of Inn.

Erik turned around to see his beloved angel awake and looking around the room for answers.

"I had to check us in somewhere… at least until I find somewhere else… I don't know weather to remain at the opera house, or find a new place completely." Erik explained as Christine listened intently.

He was quiet for a few moments. "I still don't know what you were thinking… I probably never will…"

Christine gave a faint smile and crawled out of the bed. "I was thinking… that I made the right choice." She touched his arm and he looked at her, letting all his pent up emotion leak out through his eyes.

He quickly embraced her into a hug. Her being shorter made it seem like a bear hugging a man. She felt so cozy in his arms, never wanting to leave them, but she knew they really needed to find a place to stay… how was this going to work out when they both had no where to go.

"Christine… I've got to find us a place to live, we can't stay here, and I'm afraid we'd never be able to stay at the opera house." Erik let go of Christine and made his way to the balcony. "I'll be back as soon as I can, I'll find some way for us to be happy."

Christine smiled as she watched her phantom disappear over the ledge.

* * *

As we entered the opera house I noticed a fancy carriage pull up. I watched as an elderly man stepped out and sat in his wheel chair.

"I believe that to be the Viscount de Chagny!" I gasped clutching my dear friends arm. He only snuffed.

"How can you tell?" I rolled my eyes at his clear ignorance and made my way inside the auction had already started and different things were being wheeled out and wheeled in.

I stood in the center of the room, right in front of the stage, I watched from the corner of my eye as the Viscount was brought in and sat comfortably where he could see the stage. I watched as he made eye contact with an older lady on the other side of me. As I looked at her I realized she must have been the fabled Madame Giry, she was that right age, communicating silently with the Viscount, it had to be her!

I would have to wait for the auction to come to a halt before I could talk to her though, but I would, there was no doubt, I had questions, and I knew she would have answers!

* * *

A/N: k so that was the second chapter… a little short, but oh well, leave anything behind.

-Teenfox


End file.
